Markell campaign raises $750K; TV ads begin tomorrow

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell wasted no time in sending his campaign finance totals to the Elections Commissioner, reporting at least a day ahead of the deadline that his campaign raised more than $741,000 this year to fund his November re-election bid. The Democratic governor has roughly $1.2 million left in the bank.

Markell has spent almost $865,000 to fund the campaign, mostly on personnel costs and bills to pay for television advertisements that begin tomorrow. The campaign shelled out $302,000 to The Campaign Group, a paid media consultant in Philadelphia that’s apparently producing and buying the ads. A $262,000 payment went to the consultant on Friday.

Markell’s Republican opponent, Jeff Cragg, has yet to file his campaign finance forms and has until midnight tomorrow to do so. In fact, Markell beat all of the other statewide candidates to the commissioner’s office. No data on the other statewide candidates yet. Read through the details on Markell’s report here: Markell 30-day finance report

About Jonathan Starkey

Jonathan Starkey covers state government and politics for The News Journal. He previously worked on the business desk, writing about DuPont, AstraZeneca and insurance issues. Starkey, a native of Dover, has been with the paper since February 2010. He lives in Middletown. Follow Starkey on Twitter @jwstarkey, and email tips or feedback to jstarkey@delawareonline.com.

Guidelines: You share in the delawareonline.com community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse.

We're using Facebook Comments on articles to create a more civil environment for conversation. To find out more, please visit the FAQ.